Acetylene-gas generator.



No. 789,128. PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

' G. H. & G. D. PRUITT.

AOETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION runnnov. 22, 1904.

Patented May 2, 19oz.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE HOLDITCH PRUITT AND CONRAD D. PRUITT, OF MABANK, TEXAS.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 789,128, dated May 2, 1905.

Application filed November 22, 1904. Serial No. 233,792.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GEORGE HOLDITCH PRUITT and CONRAD D. PRUITT, citizens of the United States, residing at Mabank, in the county of Kaufman and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Generators; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to improvements in acetylene-gas generators; and it consists in certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

The object of our invention is 'to improve and simplify the construction and operation of devices of this character, and thereby render the same more eflicient and durable in use and less expensive to manufacture.

The above and other objects, which will appear as the nature of our invention is more fully understood, are accomplished by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View through a generator constructed in accordance with our invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional views taken, respectively, on the lines 2 2 and 3 3 in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings by numeral, 1 denotes a cylindrical water-tank provided with an open top adapted to receive an inverted cylindrical gas-bell 2. Said bell telescopes within the tank 1 and is guided in its vertical sliding movement by a series of verticallydisposed guide-rods 3, which are secured upon carbid through the valve-opening 7 and into the water-tank beneath its bell is controlled by a valve 10, which is in the form of a cylinder, of metal or other heavy material. Said cylinder 10 is slidably mounted in a tubular guide 11, which projects concentrically through the top of the holder 5 and has its lower open end terminating a short distance above the conical bottom 6 of said holder. The open upper end of said guide 11 is adapted to be closed by a screw-cap 12. The lower end of the cylinder 10 is tapered or cone-shaped, as at 13, to coact with said valve-opening 7, and projecting downwardly and concentrically from the said end of the cylinder 10 is a valvestem 14. The. valve 10 is operated automatically as the hell 2 rises and lowers by means of an L-shaped operating-rod 15, which consists of along vertical portion 16, a horizontal portion 17, and a short vertical portion 18. Said portion 18 is concentrically disposed with respect to the water-tank and gas-bell and has upon its upper end a stop-plate 19, which is adapted to be engaged by said valve-stem 14 in order to actuate the latter, and hence said valve 10. The long vertical portion 16, which extends vertically between the tank and bell, is slidably mounted in brackets or guides 20, which are secured upon the inner face of the side wall of the water-tank, as seen in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The extreme upper end of said portion 16 of the rod 15 is formed with a handle 21, and upon said end is provided an arm 22, which is formed with an aperture through which one of the guide-rods 3 projects. The outer end of said arm is formed with a screw-threaded opening 23, adapted to receive a set-screw 24, which impinges against said guide-rod 3 to secure the arm 22 thereto. It will be seen that by means of this construction the operating-rod 15 may be adjusted at any desired elevation, so that the valve 10 will be open when the gas-bell 2 lowers sufficiently to bring the lower end of the valvestem 14 into engagement with said stopplate 19.

Extending vertically within the tank 1 and bell 2 is a purifier 25 in the form of a cylinder adapted to contain charcoal or the like.

The upper end of said cylinder 25 is disposed above the surface of the water in the tank 1 and is perforated, as at 26, to permit the gas within the bell to pass into said cylinder. At the lower end of the purifier 25 is provided the usual gas-supply outlet or supply-pipe 27.

The water-tank 1 is provided adjacent to its bottom with an outlet-pipe 28, controlled by a valve 29. In order to loosen the spent carbid upon the bottom of the Water-tank, I provide an agitator 30, which is in the form of an L-shaped rod or lever extending vertically between the tank and the bell. Mounted in brackets or bearings 27 upon the lower end of said lever 36 is a horizontally-extending rod 38, which is adapted to sweep the bottom of the water-tank when the lever is operated by means of a crank 39, formed upon its upper end. The gas-bell 2 has its lower end guided by the lower portions of the lever or rod 36 and the operating-rod 15, which are engaged by bracket-arms 40, secured upon the lower end of the gas-bell, as shown.

The operation of the machine is as follows: When the bell lowers in the water-tank, the valve-stem 14 will engage the stop-plate 19 and the valve 10 will be elevated to permit the carbid within the holder 5 to discharge through the valve-opening 7 and into the water in the tank 1. As gas is'generated the bell rises and the valve 10 closes by gravity to stop the flow of carbid. By adjusting the stop-plate 19 the valve will be caused to operate at any desired point in the descent of the bell. When it is desired to fill the car bid-holder 5, the operating-rod 15 is lowered, so that its portion 17 rests upon the bottom of the water-tank. The screw-cap 9 is then removed and the carbid is poured into the filling connection 8.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Variouschanges in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.-

Having thus described our invention, what weclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an acetylene-gas generator, the combination of a water-tank, a gas-bell slidably mounted therein, acarbid-holder on top of said bell formed with a conical bottom having a central outlet-opening. a tubular guide in said holder disposed concentrically above the opening in the bottom of said holder, a weighted cylindrical valve slidably mounted in said guide and formed with a cone-shaped lower end to coact with said valve-opening, a depending stem upon said valve projecting through said opening and into said Water-tank, an L-shaped operating-rod slidably mounted upon the inner face of the side wall of the water-tank, a stop-plate upon the lower end of said rod adapted to be engaged by the lower end of said valve-stem, a guide-rod upon said water-tank and an arm for adjustably'connecting said guide-rod and the upper end of said operating-rod to hold the latter in an adjusted position, substantially as described.

2. In an acetylene-gas generator, the combination of a water-tank, a gas-bell, a carbidholder carried by the bell and having a funnel-shaped bdttom provided with an outletopening at its lowest point, a tubular guide in the holder, disposed concentrically above the opening in the bottom thereof, a weighted cylindrical valve slidably mounted in the holder and having a cone-shaped lower end to enter and close said opening in the holder, a stem depending from said valve, an L-shaped op.- erating-rod connected to the tank for vertical movement and having a stop adapted to be engaged by the lower end of the valve-stem on the descent of the bell, and means to secure said L-shaped operating-rod at any .de sired vertical adjustment.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE HOLDITOH PRUITT. CONRAD D. PRUITT.

Witnesses:

J. S. CARTER, O. M. MITCHELL. 

